Easy Jutta... The idea here is to apply this style wheel to a car and not a toy. There are many existing industrial and robotic omni directional wheels, Mecanum wheels and holomonic drive systems but this is the first design that i have seen with the ability to free coast.

This would be efficient for driving but has one big problem. No Brakes, even when you stop the wheel the polyurethane perimeter wheels continue to free roll.

Any ideas or suggestions on how to add brakes to these wheels?

One idea would be to have three wheels mounted at 120 degrees and reverse power. Build a 2 seater drivers pod, use electric scooter motors and you endup with a unique driving vehicle.

Yeah, I was thinking that, too. If you had a computer monitoring the direction of slide, it could probably turn and brake a lot more quickly and precisely than a human, without requiring actuators inside the outer wheels.

In the You Tube video post, the inventor lists "too many parts" as the number one reason this couldn't make it to market - I agree. I don't think these wheels would be anywhere as cheap and robust as current car tires. They'd have to cost thousands of dollars, each.

For road brakes, do what [jutta] says: somehow get the main wheels pointed in the direction of travel, so the perimeter wheels are not rolling, then stop the main wheels. For parking brakes, put down some sort of kickstand.

Shapharian, you should only post a highly-derived pseudo-idea like this IF and AFTER you have solved problems like adding brakes. If you see something the inventors didn't see, maybe you have something Halfbakery worthy. Maybe. But this is just a wish, one that you want someone else to make come true for you.

And, aside from flailing down the street sideways, it doesn't even have a useful purpose, except your delusion of low cost. If you did manage to put motors, a braking system and driver's pods on the thing, it wouldn't be any lower in cost than any other vehicle. The wheels cost MUCH more than plain wheels, and you've got to add control systems out the wazoo. But you delude yourself that it would somehow cost less than any other vehicle.

It's obvious that you have little comprehension of mechanical devices and how they function. Nor do you understand the Halfbakery and how it works.

A sideways sliding fishbone.

(Sorry, [jutta], I probably shouldn't snap like this in an idea that you are discussing, but this guy is really getting me chapped.)

Picture a 5' circular drive pod that rotates to always faces the direction of the slide/travel riding an active circular track instead of the hex cover and three bearings.

The drive wheels are dampened and attached to a circular drive track mounted under the pod track and rotates freely independent of the pod. The drive track can spin and control movement but the pod always will face the direction of travel.

The two drive wheels are mounted outside of the pod frame.The two free moving balancing wheels contain disk brakes.

Bone: the vehicle is not held rigid when brakes are locked. That's an important safety function that cannot be achieved in this vehicle.

Unless you were thinking that the driver should always turn the vehicle to point uphill at stops. Even then, the vehicle is only held in one direction; a strong wind or a chance impact sends it moving again, possibly into traffic.

Fleets of these cruising about a closed course would be a blast and I would cheerfully pony up a few bucks to take one for a spin. But in traffic? Not even at gunpoint, buddy.